Borussia Dortmund will be aiming to keep themselves in the title race heading into the final day of the Bundesliga season by beating Augsburg on Sunday.
The hosts, meanwhile, may still require three points from their final two matches in order to be mathematically safe from the prospect of relegation depending on results elsewhere.
In truth, given that Schalke 04 and Stuttgart would each need to win both of their remaining matches to drag Augsburg into trouble, Enrico Maassen’s side probably already have enough points on the board to have secured a 13th successive season in Germany’s top flight.
Fuggerstädter could have put any minor doubts to bed by gaining a positive result away to their relegation rivals VfL Bochum last weekend, but they fell to a 3-2 defeat at Vonovia Ruhrstadion.
Christopher Antwi-Adjei and Arne Maier had exchanged strikes early on to leave the two sides locking horns at half-time, but Jeffrey Gouweleeuw’s own goal and Anthony Losilla’s effort took the game away from the visitors either side of the hour mark.
As such, Maassen and his players can not breathe easy just yet, although they could have their safety confirmed before kicking-off against Dortmund on Sunday should results go their way earlier across the weekend.
Likewise, Dortmund will be praying for a favour from RB Leipzig when they visit Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga’s Saturday evening match, with only one point separating the two title rivals heading into the final two matchdays of the campaign.
BVB had worked wonders to move within touching distance of their first Bundesliga title since the 2011-12 season, but a recent draw against Bochum instead handed the initiative back to the Bavarians.
Edin Terzic’s side have since thrashed Wolfsburg 6-0 and Borussia Monchengladbach 5-2, but Bayern have held their nerve in trademark fashion to move within two victories of an 11th consecutive title triumph.
However, all Dortmund can do is focus on themselves, knowing that any slip-up from Bayern will see them reach the summit once again providing they do their own business against Augsburg on Sunday and Mainz 05 next weekend.
Augsburg will be without Robert Gumny due to suspension, with the defender receiving his fifth caution of the season after coming on as a substitute during the defeat to Bochum last time out.
Maassen is having to deal with perhaps the most intense injury crisis in the division at present, with Maier, Ruben Vargas, Julian Baumgartlinger, Iago, Reece Oxford, Rafal Gikiewicz, Andre Hahn and Tobias Strobl all expected to miss the weekend’s action.
Irvin Cardona and Daniel Caligiuri may be competing to replace Maier at right wing-back, with Maassen’s lack of options likely to see him stick with the same starting XI otherwise.
Dortmund, meanwhile, will travel without Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Soumaila Coulibaly, Thomas Meunier and Julien Duranville, but Jude Bellingham should shake off a minor knock given the magnitude of the fixture.
The England midfielder has bagged four goals across BVB’s last four matches, with Terzic likely to be hoping to name the same side that swatted Gladbach aside with routine ease last weekend.
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Koubek; Bauer, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai; Caligiuri, Dorsch, Rexhbecaj, Pedersen; Berisha, Beljo, Demirovic
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Wolf, Sule, Hummels, Ryerson; Bellingham, Can; Malen, Brandt, Adeyemi; Haller
We say: Augsburg 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
Both teams’ outlook on this fixture will be hugely affected by results elsewhere across Friday and Saturday, with Augsburg set to discover whether they may require any more points in order to survive.
Dortmund, meanwhile, will know whether they can return to the top of the table by beating Augsburg after watching Bayern take on Leipzig less than 24 hours prior, but either way we expect them to have too much quality for their hampered opponents.
